Free Lent album download from New York Hymns

Songs for Lent is a collaborative album by various Brooklyn-based musicians, released in 2013, that reflects on themes of temptation, suffering, sin, death, grace, and longing.

Except for two originals, all the hymn texts were written between the sixteenth through eighteenth centuries; Bruce Benedict, the chaplain of worship arts at Hope College in Holland, Michigan, curated them for this project, based on their theological richness and their fittingness for Lenten meditation. I applaud his selections, most of which have heretofore been little known and little sung in the church.

The one that’s most familiar is probably “Alas and Did My Savior Bleed”—this is the only song on the album whose traditional melody is retained. All the others feature brand-new musical settings by twelve different songwriters; in a few cases, two interpretations of the same text are included. Though I enjoyed every contribution, I especially like the ones by Jason Pipkin: “Remember, Lord, Our Mortal State” and “Away, My Unbelieving Fear,” which he performs with his wife, Kanene Donehey Pipkin.

The collective—they call themselves “New York Hymns”—is graciously providing Songs for Lent for free streaming and download on Bandcamp. (Donations are welcome.) Lead sheets and chord charts can be accessed at www.newyorkhymns.com.

Below is the track list. Because most of the lyrics on the album are excerpts from longer hymns, I’ve included a link to the full set of original lyrics for each one in a parenthetical note.